The brand new self-employment system in France, known as ‘auto-entrepreneur’, could and certainly should change the way the internet is used. Now everyone can do business on the net – placing ads, doing one-off jobs, or even creating a viable business. After all, there’s no excuse not to now…

I don’t have a specific business in mind but I am forever coming up with ideas, and every so often I come up with ideas that might actually generate some cashflow. I figured OK why not have a go…you register self-employed online and it shouldn’t be so hard to do.

The ‘auto-entrepreneur’ website is quite well laid-out though there are bits of information that could have been included for the benefit of the layman, such as the different kinds of businesses you can run. But it’s easy enough - you scan your ID onto the site and you’re away.

The registration form is a bit on the lengthy side - there's a bunch of questions to answer and a lot of information to submit but it’s manageable.

I obediently fill in each and every section as requested.

Then I get an email confirming that my details have been received and that I will shortly be receiving more information and so I sit back and wait. After all, what could go wrong now.

Then a telltale ping: 'Error message - transaction not recognised'

Here’s the shocker:

My registration has been refused. I send an email, I try to get through on the phone with zero success – an adventure in itself – and after wading through acres of gobbledy-gook I came up with this by way of explanation:

Please be aware: the new regime introduced on 1st January 2009 does not presently apply to all business types. Following a dispute with the CIPAV (caisse interprofessionnelle de prévoyance et d’assurance vieillesse) [the compulsory pensions contributions fund for certain professions] which encompasses a large portion of freelance-type activity including engineering consultancy and IT work, a significant proportion of self-employed persons wishing to work within the new regime may not be able to fully access all the facilities offered.

It appears that Novelli, the Secretary of State for Trade and Small & Medium Enterprises, is planning to sort this out with a legal amendment unless someone else has a better idea.

Here, then, are the two options if you want to be self-employed using these new tools:

The shiny, new "independent entrepreneur" statute is (or was) supposed to revolutionize the Internet, allowing everyone to set up operations, declare advertising and small jobs . . . Who knows? Maybe even whip up some real business.

I don't have anything specific in mind at the moment, but I've always got a bunch of projects - from time to time, things that could even generate some cash - so I think to myself, "Let's try this thing out. You can register online, so how hard can it be?"

The site is pretty well-designed, although at times it doesn't provide enough explanation for the uninitiated (about the different types of regimes, for example). You can do everything all at once by scanning an ID card.

The form is fairly tricky, with lots of questions to answer and information to fill in, but it's not the end of the world.

So I fill out my (long) form like a good little boy.

I get an e-mail confirming that my application was received and that I'll be getting more info later, so I wait. Confidently.

Error: Occupation Not Recognized

To my surprise, my application is denied. I send an e-mail, I try to get them on the phone (quite the adventure, and a total failure besides), and I finally get an explanation thanks to Dame Tartine:

Note that the program as put into effect on January 1, 2009 does not apply to all occupations. Due to a problem with the Caisse interprofessionnelle de prévoyance et d'assurance vieillesse (Interprofessional Pension and Contingency Fund, known as CIPAV), which covers a good number of the liberal professions (including engineering consultants and computer scientists), many independent entrepreneurs who wish to work in the new technologies cannot fully access this system. For lack of any better solution, Novelli has promised to sort out this problem through a legislative amendment.

So, if you want to be an independent entrepreneur in the new technologies, you have two choices:

It's brand new, the latest thing, the status of auto-entrepreneur is/was supposed to revolutionize the Web by enabling everyone to do business... and to post adverts, odd jobs - and maybe even generate real business.

Right now I don't have anything particular in mind, but I always have plenty of schemes - and perhaps even, on the odd occasion, some ideas that could generate cash. So I say to myself, "Hey, let's give that a try... what's more, you can register online - that ought to simplify matters rather."

The website is quite well done, if at times somewhat lacking in explanations for the uninitiated (like the various types of scheme, etc...). You can do it all in one go, by scanning a proof of ID.

OK, the form is pretty heavy going, quite a few questions and information, etc., but nothing dramatic.

I diligently fill in my (hefty) form.

I receive an email confirming that my submission has been registered and that I'll receive more info shortly. So I wait... confidently.

Help! Unrecognised activity

And then, the bombshell:My submission has been refused... I send an email, try to get hold of them over the phone (quite a rigmarole, and a fruitless exercise, to boot) and it's thanks to the help of Dame Tartine that I do eventually find the explanation:

Please note that the scheme implemented on 1 January 2009 does not yet apply to all activities: following a block by the CIPAV pension-fund scheme (caisse interprofessionnelle de prévoyance et d’assurance vieillesse), which covers a very large proportion of the liberal professions, including engineers and information-technology consultants, many auto-entrepreneurs hoping to work in new technologies are denied full access to this scheme. The best Novelli could do was to promise a legal amendment to rectify this problem.

So, if you want to be an auto-entrepreneur in new technologies, you have two solutions:

The all new, innovative auto-entrepreneur scheme is supposedly designed to revolutionise the internet by enabling individuals to set themselves up in business, advertise and post small jobs - even generate some serious business.

I don’t have a concrete project in mind at the moment, but I’ve always got lots of ideas. There’s no reason why some of these couldn’t generate some cash, so I think, “I’ll give it a go. You can register on-line, so it should be quite easy.”

The site is fairly well done, although sometimes it’s not altogether clear to the uninitiated (such as the various types of regime etc.). It can all be done in one go by scanning in your ID.

Ok, so the form’s a bit of a bind. Asks for lots of information, and there are loads of questions. But nothing too terrifying.

I complete my (lengthy) form like a good little boy.

I get an email confirming that my application has been registered and that I will shortly be sent further information. So I wait. I’ve got a good feeling about this!

But there’s a hitch…. “Activity not recognised”.

To my surprise, my application is refused. I email them, try and ring them (a right palaver that proves fruitless anyway), and it’s only thanks to the Dame Tartine blog that I eventually find an explanation:

Warning: the scheme that came into force on 1 January 2009 does not yet apply to every type of activity. The pension and contingency fund CIPAV, which caters for a significant percentage of self-employed professionals, including consulting engineers and computer specialists, currently refuses to participate in the system, meaning that many auto-entrepreneurs wishing to work with new technologies are denied full access to this scheme. In the absence of a better solution, Novelli has promised to remedy this problem with a legislative amendment.

So, if you want to be an auto-entrepreneur using new technologies, you have two options:

It’s brand new, it's the very latest thing and the self-starter business status is/was bound to revolutionize the web by giving everyone the chance to do business – and declare ad work, odd jobs and, why not, drum up some real business.

I’d nothing really specific in mind right off but I’ve always got loads of plans and, why not, a thing or two that might make me some cash from time to time, so I think to myself, “OK, let’s check it out –what’s more you can register on line, it should be fairly straightforward”.

The website’s pretty good, even though it could do at times with a few more explanations for the non-initiated (the different types of schemes and so on). You can do everything all at once just by scanning a document to prove your ID.

OK, the form is somewhat on the tough side, quite a lot of questions to go through, info needed, etc., but nothing you can’t handle.

So, I fill in the (hefty) form like a good boy.

I get an email confirming that my application has been registered and that I’ll be getting further info shortly, so I wait – feeling confident.

There’s a glitch – Non-recognised activity, it says.

And then, out of the blue: My application has been rejected. I send off an email, try to get them on the phone (a real palaver, unsuccessful to boot) and it’s thanks to the blurb I find on the web that I finally get the explanation:

Please note that as of 1st January 2009 this status is not yet applicable to all activities: a veto by CIPAV (the healthcare and old-age insurance interprofessional fund) which covers a very large section of independent professionals, including consultant engineers and IT specialists, means that many self-starters wishing to work in new technologies are denied full access to the scheme. For want of a better solution, Hervé Novelli, French Minister for Commerce & Tourism, has promised an amendment to legislation to resolve the problem.

So, if you want to get self-starter status in new technologies, you have two choices:

I have nothing really specific in mind at the moment, but I always have loads of things on the go, so why not occasionally something or other that could generate some cash? So, I thought, ”right, let’s give it a try. Besides, you can register on line, that should make things easier.”

The site is rather well designed, even if, at times, it lacks some explanation for the uninitiated (like the different kinds of schemes, etc.). You can do it all in one go by scanning a piece of I.D.

Well, the form is quite detailed, lots of questions, a great deal of information to fill in etc., but nothing too dramatic.

Like a good little boy I fill out my (huge) form.

I receive an email confirming my application has been correctly registered and that I will receive further information a little later, so I wait… feeling confident.

But then, there's an unexpected hitch – "Activity not recognised"

And after that, a surprise. My application has been rejected… I send an email; I try to contact them on the telephone (quite an experience, and I didn’t even get through) and after much to-ing and fro-ing I finally hit on the explanation.

Please note, the scheme introduced on 1st January 2009 does not yet include all activities. Many auto-entrepreneurs wishing to work in new technologies cannot fully access this scheme following an impasse with CIPAV (Interprofessional pension fund and pension provision) who cover a very large proportion of self-employed professionals, including engineering consultants and computer consultants. For want of something better, Novelli has promised to address this problem through legislative amendment.

So, if you want to be an auto-entrepreneur in new technologies, you have two choices:

It's absolutely brand spanking new, the status of auto entrepreneur must, indeed, it needed to stir up the web, enabling everyone to do business ... to be able to post their ads, minor works and - why not? generate real business.

For the moment, I haven't anything specific in mind, but I always have plenty of schemes and perhaps from time to time the odd one that could generate some cash. So, I say to myself: "come on, lets test this ... what's more one can register online, even better."

The site is pretty well designed, even if there is an occasional lack of explanation for the uninitiated (such as the different regulatory schemes etc.). It can all be done straight off, by scanning an ID document.

Well, the form is quite bulky, lots of questions, information to fill in etc., but nothing dreadful.

I filled in my (big fat) form like a good, sensible chap.

I got an email confirming that my file had been registered and that I would receive additional information a bit later, so I waited confidently.

Blast! Unrecognized business activity.

And, surprise, surprise:My file has been rejected. I sent an email, I tried to get them on the phone (that was quite a saga, unsuccessful too). Thanks to my fairy godmother, I finally found the explanation:

Be warned; the system as set up on 1st January 2009 doesn't yet cover all types of business activity. As a result of a glitch with CIPAV (the general professional social security and pension scheme), which covers a great many of the liberal professions, including consultant engineers and computer scientists, many auto entrepreneurs wanting to work in new technologies cannot fully access this scheme. For want of anything better, Novelli [Minister for Consumer Affairs] has promised to sort the problem out by way of an amendment to the law.

So, if you want to be an auto entrepreneur in the new technologies, there are two solutions: